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Month: October 2012

Hey guys! I hope you’re all doing well despite the craziness that was Hurricane Sandy last Monday. The snow hasn’t really helped with the power outage in some areas here in West Virginia, but I’m just glad everything’s through!

Snow in Fayette County, WV.

My kids’ swing set was blown over, but I’m thankful that there were no other casualties. Hopefully we can all enjoy the rest of the year now that things are back to normal.

Halloween-themed home in Kenova, WV.

I saw this amazing Halloween-decorated home on the news yesterday and the place looks stunning! It must’ve been crazy preparing all those Jack-o-lanterns!

If you’ll be having friends or family visiting for dinner, you should spruce up the table with some fall-inspired decor for the season! I was browsing BetterHomesandGardens.com for some ideas, and I found this great article on centerpieces!

IDEAS FOR FABULOUS FALL CENTERPIECES

1. Dress Up Fall Fruits

Add a bit of sparkle to the rich palette of autumn. Choose a few complementary pears or apples and adorn in a variety of patterns with adhesive decals in shimmering silver, bronze, and gold tones. Group together in a bowl or place a few along the length of a table runner.

2. Cover Pumpkins in Flowers

For pretty and quick fall centerpieces, get a small pumpkin, a bouquet of flowers, and hot glue. Choose flowers with harvest colors and cut each flower just below the flower head. Attach each blossom to an uncut pumpkin with a dab of hot glue. Sprinkle colorful leaves and small gourds around the pumpkins for added interest.

3. Combine Flowers and Fruit

Choose fruit and blossoms in shades of the same color for monochromatic and beautiful fall centerpieces. Yellow apples, pears, and flowers create a sunny centerpiece. Arrange the fruit in a compote, add an inch of water, and then tuck in flowers and greenery.

4. Paint a Pumpkin for the Focal Point

Arrange pears, apples, and gourds in a cornucopia. Sprinkle silver powder (such as Luster Dust) onto the tops and stems of white mini pumpkins that are clean, dry, and at room temperature; scatter several at different spots around the house for stunning fall centerpieces and place at the center of the cornucopia.

5. Use Plenty of Color

Bring beautiful fall color inside for your fall centerpieces with a table runner sprinkled with fallen leaves and pretty pumpkins. Create the table runner using camel-color wool, flannel, or felt as a base. Cut the fabric to size. Lay coordinating ribbons along the center of the runner and secure with double-stick tape or a dab of fabric glue if necessary. Set a compote or cake stand in the center and scatter leaves, mini pumpkins, and pears down the runner. To give fall centerpieces such as this table runner staying power, use fabric leaves and glue them to the table runner base.

6. Create a Gilded Fall Centerpiece

To add instant color to your fall centerpieces, fill a gilded pitcher with a brilliant bouquet of roses, dahlias, and rose hips. Lightly spray flower petals and rose hips with gold paint to echo the glint of the pitcher.

7. Display Fall-Color Flowers

Glistening red currants, a pink-hue hydrangea bloom, or a few red roses are some fall color flowers that can be combined to make your vases stand out.

8. Arrange a Fall Platter

Interesting gourds or pumpkins can stand alone or be surrounded by textured natural elementsfor beautiful fall centerpieces. Fall leaves, nuts and candies make a good combination.

9. Elevate Pumpkins for Fall Centerpieces

Say good-bye to plain orange pumpkins — creamy-white varieties look elegant as fall centerpieces when adorned with silver glitter and nestled in boxwood atop a silver wine bucket. Use this look for an elegant Thanksgiving or for a seasonal bridal or baby shower.

10. Get Creative with Candles

Garnish plain pillar candles with leaves for elegant and understated fall centerpieces. Choose a few favorite leaves from your lawn. Determine placement of leaves on each candle. Coat the backs of the leaves with decoupage medium and smooth in place on the outside of the candle. If necessary, use tacky white crafts glue to hold the stems down. Cover the sides of the candle and the leaves with one or more coats of decoupage medium.

As Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d share an interesting “spooky” attraction if you happen to visit Harpers Ferry in West Virginia!

It’s called the “Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry”, and it’s the oldest ghost tour in America! It’s a walking tour around the Lower Town area of Harpers Ferry where you get to visit places and buildings with reported ghostly activity over the years. A guide also shares the legends and history of the town. Sounds like a spooky treat for the whole family!

I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews about this tour. It’s even been ranked as the #1 attraction in Harpers Ferry by tripadvisor.com! If you’d like to read more information (schedules, pricing, etc.), visit the official website here.

Last Sunday was the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival in Martinsburg, WV. It’s an annual event to celebrate the harvest of apples in the fall and has always been looked forward to by the local community.

The day started out with an amazing pancake breakfast followed by an arts and crafts show at the roundhouse. There was even a show of antique vehicles and a classic car raffle!

Image by the Martinsburg Journal

Of course, being an apple harvest parade, apple-eating and apple-peeling contests were held. There was also an apple pie auction and contest. One of the more popular highlights was the 2012 Baby Apple Seed contest, where infants joined to be crowned as muse and escort in next year’s parade together with their parents.

Image by the Martinsburg Journal

It definitely was an event for the whole family. Who would’ve thought that you could do so many fun things with apples? Everyone at the roundhouse had an amazing time! If you guys missed it, you can always visit again next year!